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I set up this blog to hopefully introduce those outside Japan to some of Japan's best music and a taste of Osaka and Kyoto's thriving underground music scene.

Alot of what I post will be CDR's and CD's sold by bands on the Kyoto/Osaka live circuit. Hopefully giving a little exposure to the bands outside Japan. The rest will be Japanese bands from pretty much any and every generation and genre. From 60's Rock'n'Roll and folk to 00's noise and electronica.

If anyone has an issue with me uploading their music please contact me and I'll remove the links immediatley. My intention is to introduce this music to new audiences. So please help support these bands by buying their releases or catching them live if you have the opportunity. Alot of these guys are working full time jobs on top of making great music. Please send comments, complaints, recommendations and seasonal greetings to stinkinhippy@hotmail.com

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Itoken - Pins And Needles (イトケン - Pins And Needles)


No doubt the first word that will spring to mind when listening to Itoken is "quirky" and you'd be right. Itoken is a Tokyo based producer/musician/composer/drummer whose prolific but fairly obscure output includes soundtracking games, TV commercials, animations and websites. Not to mention his numerous collaboration projects.

Itoken uses toy instruments, oddball electronics and homemade gadgets to create his off the wall intstrumental ditties. His sugery sweet music is quirky and upbeat but also oddly sinister in a twisted sort of way. Replace the toy melodicas, xylophones and hand claps with electric guitars and drums and it could almost be Battles or some other math-rock ensemble.

"Pins And Needles" was released in 2001 and a number of tracks made an appearence in the Xbox game Phantom Crash.

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